The CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, thinks you can. He even predicts that in the future, this practice would be commonplace:

“He predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites.

“I mean we really have to think about these things as a society,” he adds. “I’m not even talking about the really terrible stuff, terrorism and access to evil things,” he says.”

Already, some young people about to apply to university and look for jobs are making it a little harder for people to find them on social networking sites – by substituting middle names for last names, using nicknames, or making up entirely fictional names. However, changing your name legally isn’t nearly as simple as changing your name on Facebook. There is a long list of legal and long-term implications associated with changing your name, not to mention the historical implications of the change – how will your great-great-great-grand-daughter fill in the family tree if you erase all traces of yourself before the age of 18?

What do you think – should we be allowed a name change to escape an embarrassing past? Would you change your name if you could? Have you?

Technological solutions, like attempts to limit access to certain websites, seem backwards and futile. The most successful approaches so far seem to be the ones that aim to empower and engage young people, by helping them evolve beyond simply users of technology to become true digital citizens.

A recent study from the U.S. suggests that teachers who are comfortable with technology report greater student learning, specifically when it comes to those skills related to digital citizenship:

“Frequent technology users place considerably more emphasis on developing students’ 21st century skills–specifically, skills in accountability, collaboration, communication, creativity, critical thinking, ethics, global awareness, innovation, leadership, problem solving, productivity and self-direction. Frequent users also have more positive perceptions about technology’s effects on student learning of these skills–and on student behaviors associated with these skills.”

This skill set is increasingly becoming essential for success in our world. Having a true digital citizenry is still a long way away, but the march toward this goal has already started, at home, and in classrooms and libraries and community centres around the world. We need to continue to play and experiment and grow comfortable with these new tools, and we need to encourage those of us around us – teachers included – to do so as well.

And while such toys and gadgets can be fun, we want you to enjoy them without putting your privacy and personal information at risk.

Here are our tips for protecting your privacy as you enjoy your new gadgets and toys:

Think before you click – The Internet is a public arena, and photos and comments you post are permanent. Even if you delete them from a web page, they could continue to exist in archived pages, in your computer’s cache or on the computers of other Internet users who may have copied them. If you don’t want certain people to see something, now or in the future, don’t post it!

Pick and protect the perfect password – Your information is only as safe as your passwords. Use different passwords for different systems; make sure they are strong (eight characters or more and a variety of letters or numbers); never share them with anybody; and change them regularly.

Know your friends – Online, you can’t be 100 per cent sure who you are talking to. Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know in real life.

Protect your identity – Identity theft is a growing problem and the Internet is the least private of spaces. Don’t post or e-mail personal details such as your social insurance number, phone number, home address or birth date.

Be careful on online gaming sites – Online gaming sites are hotbeds of people accessing personal information. Be aware that ill-intentioned people can use information from your profile to establish accounts in your name, or use your stolen identity to access your existing accounts.

Be wary of e-mail or instant messages from unknown people – Don’t open online messages that seem odd or are from someone you don’t know. They could contain a virus or let a hacker gain access to your computer.

Have a happy holiday and enjoy all your new toys!

Not having an online profile, while it may ensure your personal information is safe, could also be detrimental to your chances at a job later in life. “Today’s employers are looking for candidates who have a degree of social media and communications skills as well as an online presence” (National Post). Today’s youth are expected to be extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the internet and its communication possibilities. By establishing a presence in social networks and among your friends and colleagues, you show potential employers that you are familiar with how these tools work. Your social networking and e-communication skills may even look good on your resume.

This doesn’t mean that all employers expect you to have a Facebook or Twitter account. There are several other ways to leave your digital footprint, including; writing a blog or posting comments, posting opinions on news articles, creating a specialized website, signing up for a profile on professional networking sites. It goes on and on …

Before you start posting away, keep in mind that no matter what you’re doing on the Internet it’s always important to think carefully about the message you leave behind. The Internet can be a great tool to present yourself to future employers but can also turn out to be the reason for lost job opportunities.